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3. Advertising strategies

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Listening



 

Question:
Using points and examples from the talk, explain advertising strategies presented by the professor.

 

Preparation time: 30 seconds
speaking time: 1 minute

 

Texts

In advertising, various strategies are used to persuade people to buy products. In order to sell more products, advertisers will often try to make us believe that a product will meet our needs or desires perfectly. Even if it’s not true, the strategies they use can be subtle or friendly forms of persuasion that are sometimes hard to recognize.
In a lot of ads, repetition is a key strategy. Research shows that repeated exposure to a message, even something meaningless or untrue, is enough to make people accept it or see it in a positive light. You’ve all seen the car commercials on TV, like the one that refers to its roomy cars over and over again. You know which one I mean. This guy is driving around and he keeps stopping to pick up different people. He picks up three or four people. And each time, the narrator says, “Plenty of room for friends! Plenty of room for family! Plenty of room for everybody!” This same message is repeated several times in the course of the commercial. Now the car…the car…actually looks kind of small. It’s not a very big car at all, but you get the sense that it’s pretty spacious. You think that the viewer would reach the logical conclusion that the slogan misrepresents the product. Instead, what usually happens is that when the statement “plenty of room” is repeated often enough, people are actually convinced it’s true.
Another strategy that they use is to get a celebrity to advertise a product. It turns out that we are more likely to accept an advertising claim made by somebody famous, a person we admire and find appealing. We tend to think they’re trustworthy. So you might have a car commercial that features a well-known race car driver. Now it may not be a very fast car. It could even be an inexpensive vehicle with a low performance rating. But if a popular race car driver shown driving it and saying, “I like my cars fast!” then people will believe the car is impressive for its speed.

 

Explanation

(Summary for the lecture)
In advertising, many strategies are used to persuade people to buy products.
First key strategy is repetition.
When people are exposed to a message repeatedly, they tend to accept it or consider it positive.
For example, although it is not a big car, if the same message such as “plenty of room for friends, plenty of room for family” is in the commercial, people would be convinced it is true.
Another strategy is to use a celebrity in a commercial to promote a product.
People are attracted to claims made by famous people or people they admire and would think the claim is reliable.
For example, if a popular race car driver says that he like the car because of its speed, although the car is not fast, people will believe the words from the race car driver.

(Sample answer)
In a lecture on advertising strategies, the professor discusses various techniques utilized to persuade consumers to purchase products.

One key strategy emphasized is repetition. When individuals encounter a message repeatedly, they are more inclined to accept it or view it favorably. For instance, even if a car is not particularly spacious, consistent messaging such as “plenty of room for friends, plenty of room for family” in commercials can convince viewers of its spaciousness.

Another effective strategy involves leveraging celebrity endorsements in advertisements. People are often drawn to endorsements made by famous individuals or those they admire, leading consumers to accept claims simply because they trust the celebrity’s judgment. For example, if a popular race car driver endorses a car for its speed, despite the vehicle not being particularly fast, consumers are likely to believe the endorsement due to the perceived credibility of the race car driver.